This brief suggests that during the past 2 decades, the skills needed to succeed in the workplace have changed significantly. Technical skills remain important, but, increasingly, employers recognize another category of skills crucial to a worker's ability to work "smarter, not harder." These "soft,""core,""nontechnical,""essential,""generic," and…

The goal of this guide is to provide resources for teachers and trainers to use in helping students improve their scientific thinking and problem solving skills in real-life situations. Each activity is characterized by inquiry-based learning, process skill development, and gender equity considerations. Topics for activities include problem…

This is volume 6 of the series of translations of books from the Soviet literature on research in the psychology of mathematics instruction and on teaching methods influenced by the research. This book contains both a theoretical examination of the connection between instruction and the development of children, and experimental data on a definite…

The three principle elements of Total Quality Management (TQM) are a focus on customers; an attitude of continuous improvement of a system; and the involvement of everyone within an organization. At Delaware County Community College (DCCC) in Media, Pennsylvania, the first phase of implementing TQM focused on educating top management for the…

The "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989)" calls for the revision of existing secondary mathematics curricula which include an emphasis on contextual problems, multiple representations, and the use of computers. The focus of this revision significantly involves the acknowledgment of the key role of the…

The Department of Teaching and Learning of Peabody College of Vanderbilt University developed a project to strengthen field experiences for elementary/early childhood teacher education students. The project was designed to use current research to revise the laboratory and practica programs, incorporating technology and simulated classroom…

This book presents materials, activities, background information, and student handouts for conducting educational programs that allow students to explore packaging and handling practices as these relate to waste generation and management options. An educational approach used in the development of these materials is based on the idea that solid…

This document provides a model for the national assessment of higher order thinking and consists of a preface and four main sections. The preface discusses the problem of lower order learning, summarizes the state of research into critical thinking and instructional reform, and explains the structure of the paper. Section 1 of the paper describes…

An external evaluation was made of the Competitive Skills Project, a National Workplace Literacy Program carried out in partnership between El Camino College and BP Chemicals. Among the problems identified were the following: (1) because the original director and his successor left the project, the original evaluation design could not be…

Using a case history approach, one teacher's attempt to integrate theory and practice in an elementary English-as-a-Second-Language classroom is described. Paulo Freire's problem-posing educational model is examined in terms of its capacity to incorporate effectively the following theoretical premises: (1) language and culture form an inseparable…

This curriculum guide for secondary school teachers addresses issues causing interethnic tension and conflict, highlights them through dialogue, and is designed to help students understand the origins of their attitudes toward other groups. An introductory section ("Notes to the Teacher") describes the need for the curriculum, explains…

The authors describe one high school teacher's attempt to change her mathematics teaching in ways that are consistent with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics'"Standards" documents. One of the coauthors is the teacher who teaches in a professional development school; the other, a researcher, conducted regular observations in…

The Mathematics Education Research Group of Australia (MERGA) was officially constituted in 1980. In 1984, MERGA produced the first review of the mathematics education research carried out in that region. This book is the third in that series of research reviews. An overview provides the context in which the Australian research was conducted and…

As the issues with which individuals and communities struggle on a daily basis have become more urgent (e.g., unemployment, increasing crime, and overburdened health care), the tensions inherent in the relationship between college and community have become more apparent. Despite criticism that their missions are already overextended, some…

A project geared to adult educators in rural central Pennsylvania addressed the topics of recruitment and retention of students in adult education programs in order to help the educators find solutions to these problems. Seminars conducted twice during 1993 covered the following topics: methods of recruitment, overcoming text anxiety, curbing the…